Hoist



Sept. 18, 1945. HART ETAL. 2,385,276

HOIST Filed Oct. 5, 1944 .4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I fj, I INVENTORS Hastings A. Barber;

verel! W Bvrbeck E F BY ATTORNEY Sept. 18, 1945.

H. T. HART ETAL HOIST Filed Octv 5, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS fiwti 719: A. Barber; Everett W Burbeck fidgalzn'bal [Ha rt H. T. HART ET AL HOIST Sept. 18, 1945.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 5, 1944 ATTORNEY Sept 18, 1945- -H. T. HART HAL 2,385,276

HOIST File dflct. 5, 1944 4 Shets-Sheet 4- Patented Sept. 18, 1945 HOIST.

Hannibal T. Hart, Eveleth, and Hastings A. Barber and Everett W. Burbeck, Duluth, Minn, assignors to Oliver Iron Mining Company, a corporation of Minnesota Application October 5, 1944, ,Serial-No. .55-7,352

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a hoisting device and more particularly to novel retractable safety guides for hoisting cars.

One of the objects of the invention is to increase the safety of hoists by providing means whereby safety guides for the h'oist cars may be made continuous and yet allow removal of the cars.

Another object of the invention is the provision of retractable guide means whereby cars such as skips and cages on a hoisting device may be quickly and safely interchanged.

These and further objects of the invention will appear in the following description.

In hoisting devices such as elevators and inclined trackways; such as are used in mines, it is frequently necessary to exchange a materialcarrying car, such as a skip, for a cage for carrying personnel, and vice versa. Conventional hoists such as inclined mine hoists employ longitudinal fixed safety guides paralleling the track, such guides being received in guiding means on the car and being engaged by safety dogs on the car, which hold'the car in position in the event of failure of the car lifting means, such as a cable. The presence of such guide engaging means and safety dogs on the sides of the car has made it impossible to continue the longitudinal safety guides through the station at which the cars are changed, since the changing of the cars is most conveniently done by moving it out of "its normal path at such station, in a line 1yinggenerally at an angle to the normal path and in a plane containing the line of such normal path. During parts of the car changing operaticns, therefore, and during passage of a car throughsuch car changing station,,the cars have been supported only by the hoisting means such as acable, which is obviously dangerous. Should the cable break while the car is at such location, the car would gain such momentum before the safety dogs contactedthe next guide section that the safety'dogs and guide rail would be severely stressed and might themselves fail.

The present invention makes it possible tocontinue the safety guide rails on a hoisting device of thetype describedcontinuously from top to bottom, whereby the car will be held by them should the cable or other hoisting means'break, regardless of the position of the car. Such continuous guide rails are made possible, while still providing a station for the changing of" carsin the manner described, by making a section or sections of such guide rails' retractable to clear theguide engaging means and safety dogs on the-cars, so that; when the guides are retracted the carsmay be: removed in a direction substantially at right angles; to'the guides. The inventionwill bemore; fully understood by reference to the accompanying-drawings, in which:

Figure lzis a view in side elevation of a portion of a rinclined hoist;

Figure 2;isaview in cross section taken along the line IIII of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view inplan of a portion of the guide means at the joint between the fixed'guide means and the retractable guide meansgand.

V Figure 1 is aplanviewof a portion of the hoist trackway, showing, the means whereby retraction of the guide means iseffected.

The hoisting device described is an inclined mine hoistiemployed for raising ore to the surface and for carrying personnel to and from various levelslin the mine. It should be understood, however,., that the' invention finds utility in various other types of hoists and elevators, either vertical or inclined, wherein the cars are exchanged or removed The hoist illustrated consists of the inclinedskip. and cage roadmade up of. a framework indicated generally at I, said framework having longitudinal I-beam members 2, upon .the topsof which are carried tracks 3. Cross: members. 4'. are attached at intervals to the I-beams. 2, and. have attached thereto, as shown, in Figure 2, rightand left upright members Bland 6', respectively, and brace members I and 8,. respectively. Member 8 is attached to cross member 4 interiorly of the base of the upright member 6, since in the particular design illustrated, the hoistframework I abuts against that of another hoist located to the left of it.

Car 91, which is'an ore-carrying skip,,runs upon tracks 3,, as shown, and is raised and lowered by hoisting mechanism (not shown), acting through the medium of cable 9 attached to the forward end of the car. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, car 9is provided" with U'-shaped guide receiving members" I'D at the forward and rear ends thereof; within which are received the longitudinally extendingsafetyguiderails; The fixed portions ofsuch rails, above and-below the car changing location are designated; and the retractable portion -of-"-the guiderails intermediate the fixed portionare designated {2. Portions H of the safetyguide railsare supported in fixed positionrelative-to tracks 3 and car 9'on uprights, which may be similar to" uprights 5" and 6', or any other suitable supports. The retractable sections l2of the safety guide rail are supported on uprights and 6 by means of brackets I4 suitably attached to the guide rail (see Figures 2 and 3), said brackets having an angular slot I 5 therein through which projects vertical pin I6 which is fixed to support I? on the uprights 5 and 6. The direction and lengths of the angular slot I5 are chosen so that when retractable guide i2 is moved in a direction up the incline parallel to tracks 3, they are also moved outwardly in a direction away from car 9 sufficiently to clear completely guide receiving members I 0 and pivoted safety dog members I 3, which engage the top and bottom surfaces of the guide rail when the guide rail is in normal operative position.

In order to insur that the ends of the retractable guide rail I2 will match up with the corresponding ends of the fixed guide rails II there are provided cooperating guide means at each joint, one such means attached to the end of the retractable guide portion I2, providing an eye portion I8, and the other such means, attached to the end of the fixed guide II, providing a tongue I8 running through the eye of I13 to allow the retractable guide rail I2 to move freely into and out of normal position. The joint I8 between fixed and retractable guide portions is made on a bevel, as shown in Figure 3, which is parallel to the direction of movement of the retractable guide.

Retraction of guides I2 from the normal oper ative position, wherein they form prolongations of fixed guides II, to the inoperative spaced posi- 'tion, wherein they clear guide engaging means Ill and dogs I3 whereby the removal of the skip or cage in the manner described may be effected, is accomplished, in the particular embodiment shown, by means of fluid motor I9 attached to the bottom of the hoist framework centrally thereof as shown in Figure 4. Connected to the forward end of the piston rod of motor I9 is a cable which runs over guide pulleys 2| attached to the bottom of the hoist framework, over pulleys 22, likewise attached to the bottom of the framework, but further up the hoist, over pulleys 23-attached to right and left vertical members 5 and 6 in the-plane of guides I2, and thence to clip-like members 24 affixed to the rear of guides I2. It is readily apparent that admission of fluid under pressure to the forward end of motor I9 effects a downward pull on cable 29, which in turn pulls guides I2 upwardly through means 24. As previously explained, such upward movement of guides I2 likewise accomplishes their retracation laterally.

In the embodiment shown, the retractable guide rails I2 are so located with respect to a particular mine level that ore skip 9 attached to the hoist may be exchanged for cage 25, stored at that particular level.

Such operation is carried out as follows:

Car 9 is located as shown in Figure 1, with the guide receiving means I0 and dogs I3 lying well within the ends of the retractable guide portion I2.. Guides I2 are then retracted so as to clear means I!) and I3 on the car 9. An auxiliary car 26, running on tracks 21 (of the same gauge as tracks 3) at the particular mine level shown, and carrying on its top tracks 28 (likewise of the same gauge as tracks 3), having curved forward portions and beleveled rear portions, is advanced to the right (Figure 1) so that the curved forward portions of tracks 28 contact tracks 3. Car 9 is then lowered upon tracks 28. Hoisting games cable 9 is then disconnected, and car 9 is then allowed to roll down track 28 to a side track.

Personnel carrying cage 25 is then pushed along track 2'! onto track 28 to the position shown in Figure 1. Cable 9' is then connected to the forward end of cage 25, whereupon the cage is drawn up onto the tracks 3 so as to completely clear the forward ends of rails 28. Car 26 is then withdrawn. Safety rails I2 are then advanced into operative relationship with guide receiving means I 0 and safety dogs I3 of cage 25. After such operation the hoist cage is ready for use for carrying men up to the surface or down into the mine as desired. The change from hoist cage to skip is accomplished in a similar manner.

Having thus fully described the novel retractable guide means for hoisting devices, we desire to claim as new the following:

1. In a hoisting device comprising a car, means for raising and lowering the car, guide means paralleling the normal path of travel of the car, said car having means projecting therefrom, said projecting means including guide engaging means on the car cooperating with the guide means to maintain the car in its normal path of travel, at least a part of the guide means projecting past a part of the guide engaging means on the car, the improvement which comprises retractable guide means at least as long as the length of the means projecting from the car, said retractable guide means in its normal operative position engaging and cooperating with the guide engaging means on the car, and means mounting the retractable guide means for retraction from its normal operative position in a direction in a direction away from the guide engaging means sufficiently for it to clear the car and the guide engaging means, whereby a car positioned at the retractable guide means may be moved out of its normal path of travel when the retractable guide means is retracted.

2. In a hoisting device comprising a car, means for raising and lowering the car, fixed guide means paralleling the normal path of travel of the car, said car having means projecting therefrom, said projecting means including guide engaging means on the car cooperating withthe guide means to prevent substantial movement of the car in a direction at right angles to its normal path of travel, at least a part of the guide means projecting past a part of the guide engaging means on the car, the improvement which comprises retractable guide means at least as long as the length of the means pI'OjBCtlIIg from the car, said retractable guide means in its normal operative position engaging and cooperating with the guide engaging means on the car and forming a prolongation of the fixed guide means, and means mounting the retractable guide means for retraction from its normal operative position in a direction away from the guide engaging means suificiently for it to clear the car and the guide engaging means, whereby a car positioned at the retractable guide means may be moved out of its normal path of travel when the retractable guide means is retracted. V

3. In a hoisting device comprising a car, means for raising and lowering the car, guide means paralleling the normal path of travel of the-car, said car having means projecting from the side thereof, said projecting means including guide engaging means on the car cooperating with the guide means to prevent substantial movement of the car in a direction at right angles to its normal path of travel, at least apart of the guide means projecting toward the car past a partof the guide engaging means on the 'car, the imprevement which i comprises retractable guide means at least as long as the length of the means projecting from the car past a portion of the guide means, said *retractable guide means in its normal operative position engaging and cooperating with the guide engaging means on the car and forming a prolongation of the fixed guide means, and means mounting the retractable guide rrieans for retraction from its normal position in a direction-away from the car and the guide engaging means sufficiently for it to clear the guide engaging means, whereby a c r positioned at the retractable guide means may be moved out of its normal path of travel when the retractable guide means is retracted.

4. In a hoisting device comprising a car, means for raising and lowering the car, fixed guide means on opposite sides of and parallel to the normal path of travel of the car, said car having means on both sides thereof projecting from the sides, said projecting means including guide engaging means on the car cooperating with the guide means to prevent substantial movement of the car in a direction at right angles to its normal path of travel, at least a part of each guide means projecting toward the car past a part of the guide engaging means on the car, the improvement which comprises oppositely located retractable guide means, each retractable guide means being at least as long as the length of the means projecting from the car on its respective side past a portion of the guide means, said retractable guide means in their normal operative positions engaging and cooperating with the guide engaging means on the car and forming prolongations of the fixed guide means, and means mounting the retractable guide means for retraction from their normal position in directions away from the car and the guide engaging means sufiiciently for it to clear the guide engaging means, whereby a car positioned at the retractable guide means may be moved out of its normal path of travel when the retractable guide means are retracted.

5. In a hoisting device comprising a car, means for raising and lowering the car, fixed guide means on opposite sides of and parallel to the normal path of travel of the car, said car having means on both sides thereof projecting from the sides, said projecting means including guide engaging means on the car cooperating with the guide means to prevent substantial movement of the car in a direction at right angles to its normal path of travel and safety dogs for engagement with the guide means to prevent falling of the car upon failure of the means for raising and lowering of the car, at least a part of each guide means projectin toward the car past a part of the guide engaging means and safety dogs on the car, the improvement which comprises oppositely located retractable guide means, each retractable guide means being at least as long as the total effective length of the guide engaging means and the safety dogs on its respective side projecting past a portion of the guide means, said retractable guide means in their normal operative positions engaging and cooperating with the guide engaging means and the safety dogs on the car and forming prolongations of the fixed guide means, means mounting the retractable guide means for retraction from their normal positions in a direction away from the car and the-guide engaging means and safety dogs sufficiently for it to clear su'ch' projections,

and means forretracting the retractable guide means,whereby a car positioned at the retractable guide means may be movedout of its normal ning on said trackway, means for raising and lowering the 'caron the trackway, guide means parallelingthe trackway, said car having means projectingtherefrom, said projecting means including guide engaging means-on the car cooperating with the guide means to maintain the car from substantial movement at right angles to the trackway, at least a part of the guide means projecting past a part of the guide engaging means on the car, the improvement which comprises retractable guide means at least as long as the length of the projecting guide engaging means on the car, said retractable guide means in its normal operative position engaging and cooperating with the guide engaging means on the car, means mounting the retractable guide means for retraction from its normal operative position in a direction away from the guide engaging means sufiiciently for it to clear the car and the guide engaging means, said mounting means comprising supports for the retractable guide means, a bracket attached to the guide means at each support, each bracket having an upwardly and outwardly directed slot therein, and a pin fixedly positioned on each support and projecting through the slot in the corresponding bracket, whereby movement of the retractable guide means upwardly along the trackway effects its retraction from the car and the guide engaging means.

'7. In a hoisting device comprising a car, means for raising and lowering the car, guide means paralleling the normal path of travel of the car, said car having means projecting therefrom including guide engaging means on the car cooperating with the guide means to maintain the car in its normal path of travel, at least a part of the guide means projecting past a part of the guide engaging means on the car, and means at a position located along the path of travel of the car for removing the car from its normal path of travel in a direction angularly thereto, the improvement which comprises retract-able guide means at the car removing position, said retractable guide means in its normal operative position engaging and cooperating with the guide engaging means on the car, and means mounting the retractable guide means for retraction from its normal operative position in a direction away from the guide engaging means sufficiently for the car and guide engaging means to clear it when the car is moved away from its normal path, and means for retracting the retractable guide means.

8. In a hoisting. device comprising inclined tracks, a car running on the tracks, means for raising and lowering the car on the tracks, fixed guide means on opposite sides of and parallel to the tracks, said car having means on both sides thereof projecting from the sides, said projecting means including guide engaging means on the car cooperating with the guide means to prevent substantial movement of the car at right angles to the tracks and safety dogs for engagement with the guide means to prevent falling of the car upon failure of the means for raising and lowering of the car, and means at a position located along the tracks for removing the car from the tracks in a direction angular thereto, the improvement which comprisesretractable guide members at the car removing position, said retractable guide means in their normal operative positions engaging and cooperating with the guide engaging means on the car and forming prolongations of the respective fixed guide means, means mounting the retractable guide means for retraction from their normal operative position in directions away from the guide engaging means sufiiciently for them to clear the guide engaging means, said mounting means comprising supports for the retractable guide means, a bracket attached to such guide means at each support, each bracket having an upwardly and outwardly directed slot therein, and a pin fixedly positioned on each support and projecting through the slot in the corresponding bracket, whereby movement of the retractable guide means upwardly along the tracks effects their retraction from the car and 10 the guide engaging means.

HANNIBAL T. HART. HASTINGS A. BARBER. E. W. BURBECK. 

